uavGary Altunian

After the Cajon Pass, my next favorite stop is Bob's Big Boy Restaurant in Victorville, California for a combination lunch featuring the world's best burger (in my opinion), fries and a salad. Bob's Big Boy was my favorite restaurant until they closed in the 1960s, but recently re-opened to my delight. Bob's Big Boy is known as Shoney's or JB's in other parts of the US but it's the same great food!

German products are usually associated with precision performance and high quality. When you think of brands such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz cars or Rolleiflex cameras, meticulous attention to detail and quality construction are probably the first impressions that come to mind. A budget price not so much.

A power amplifier is the last electronic component in the audio chain—well, next-to-last if you count the speakers—and it has several important tasks. It must amplify a very small audio signal without changing the signal's characteristics, it must precisely control each speaker in the system, and it must instantaneously deliver adequate voltage and current to each speaker on demand. As such, the power amp is where the rubber meets the road.